Gryffindor's Banshee
by Ironshot
Summary: The-Girl-Who-Lived reaches Hogwarts only due to ancient magic that returns her as a Royal Banshee after Uncle Vernon kills her to stop her from attending school. Even worse, Harriet was sexually abused from a very young age and was pregnant at the time of her death. Will the Wizarding world survive or has Dumbledore's blunder doomed everyone. Rated M (N,V,SC) (on hiatus)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Major plot points inspired by Dragonsong2795's Banshee of Hogwarts stories (both original and rewrite) and tkepner's Harriet Potter. Portions taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone which belongs to J.K. Rowling

"Get the mail Dudley," Uncle Vernon says from behind the paper when we hear the click of the mail slot. After Dudley swipes at her with his Smelting stick, Harriet goes to get the mail instead despite the difficulties caused by being around seven months pregnant with the child of either her uncle or her cousin. Only three pieces of mail are found. A postcard from 'aunt' Marge, a brown envelope that likely contained a bill and – _a letter for Harriet_.

The envelope was thick and heavy, made from yellowish parchment and labeled in emerald green ink. No stamp or return address yet it had not only Harriet's name, but her cupboard listed on it. When she returns to the kitchen, Uncle Vernon takes all three pieces of mail from Harriet and turns purple at the sight of the parchment.

Dragging Harriet into the cellar, Uncle Vernon grabs Dudley's old baseball bat and begins beating her black and blue. In only minutes, he breaks both of her arms, at least five breaks in each leg and an even dozen rib breaks. As the shadows throughout the room thicken and come alive, Uncle Vernon uses the bat to snap Harriet's spine in three places then crushes Harriet's womb and the fetus within. Bleeding to death, Harriet vows to send her uncle to Hell for his actions and something within her responds. All the darkness in the room concentrates on Harriet and dissolves her clothes before forming blades that remove Uncle Vernon's skin an inch at a time. Two hours later, Harriet leaves her uncle's corpse cooling on the floor and returns to the kitchen as the shadows provide her with a diaphanous gown of gossamer silk.

"You'll never be trained by your kind you FREAK," Aunt Petunia screams as she starts to tear Harriet's letter on seeing her blood soaked niece enter the kitchen.

"That's MINE," Harriet replies with a literally brain detonating scream. Ignoring the headless corpses of her aunt and cousin, she reads the letter that Aunt Petunia had tried to destroy.

HOGWART SCHOOL

 _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf._

 _Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International_

 _Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Ms. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

After wondering about the owl Deputy Headmistress McGonagall is waiting for, Harriet takes a look at the second piece of paper in the envelope.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

 _of_ Witchcraft _and_ Wizardry

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

 _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ by Miranda Goshawk

 _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

 _Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling

 _A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch

 _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore

 _Magical Draughts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander

 _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl, OR a cat, OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Thinking about possible logistics problems, Harriet writes a quick reply to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall and wishes very hard for the reply to reach her office. When the reply letter vanishes into a mysterious shadow, Harriet assumes her wish worked and focuses on where she could possibly obtain everything on her school equipment list, not to mention the money to pay for it all. In moments, Harriet vanishes into the shadows leaving 4 Privet Drive empty of anything remotely living and steps out of the shadows of a pub called the Leaky Cauldron.

In her office, Minerva McGonagall is sorting through the paperwork that comes with running a school when a letter appears in a magical ball of shadow. Just as she finishes reading the letter, her boss, Albus Dumbledore, bursts in. "Minerva, I need you to come with me. The wards have fallen at Harriet's home on Privet Drive." Dumbledore says as he casts a silent portus charm.

"I told you not to leave Harriet with those muggles. I just received Harriet's acceptance letter otherwise I'd think they killed her. Merlin help us all if she sent the letter after being killed." Minerva replies as she gets a grip on the paperweight Dumbledore had turned into a portkey.

"Merlin can't help us with this. One of the myths surrounding Merlin's death speaks of a Banshee that can control shadows and shrug off the spells normally used against spirits by taking on a solid form. If we survive, I think I'll retire within five years." Dumbledore comments on seeing the magical traces lingering around 4 Privet Drive before both professors take the portkey back to Hogwarts.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Harriet walks to the back alley and opens the magical gate to Diagon Alley with a wave of her hand while barely noticing that everyone seems to cower in sorrow and or fear as she passes. Ignoring the many exotic shops for now, the young witch heads directly to the large marble building at the opposite end of the alley recognizing it as a bank. Walking up the steps, she notices that the guards are not human but pays no mind to that detail preferring to read the plaque that warns thieves away. Past the inner doors, Harriet walks up to the nearest available Teller and notices he immediately stops analyzing baseball sized rubies to focus on her.

"I was raised by non-magical people and would like to find out if my late parents left anything for me here. If I need to give my name, please take me to a more private setting since it may draw unwanted attention." Harriet replies when the Teller asks how he can help her. Rather politely compared to what the witches and wizards in the room were expecting, the teller informs Harriet that Griphook will lead her to Director Ragnar due to bank policies that the Director will explain.

When politely asked what race he is, Griphook explains that he is a goblin and how strained relations are between most of wizarding kind and the goblin race. On entering Ragnar's office, Harriet notices that his initially flushed face suggesting anger pales to a clearly unhealthy shade of white for the normally green skinned race. "Pleased to meet you Director Ragnar, my name is Harriet Potter. The Teller said something about bank policy that you would explain. Would I be correct in assuming that policy is tied to why you look ready to drop dead at seeing me?" She greets the old goblin.

"Royal Banshees such as yourself are to be treated as most valued customers served directly by the current Director ever since the last Royal Banshee nearly wiped us out back in the time of Merlin. Judging by your expression I would guess you were raised by muggles and they are the cause of your current form. If I may ask, what events caused you to become a Royal Banshee?" Director Ragnar replies.

"My Muggle relatives raised me from the time my parents died in what they say was a drunken car crash. From the age of five they and a select few friends of theirs used me as a sex toy until this morning when I got my Hogwarts letter and my uncle beat me to death with a baseball bat. Don't bother looking for them, you'll only find a trio of corpses." Harriet says as both goblins lose whatever skin pigment they have.

"You have our condolences. Normally we would do an inheritance test to find out which vaults you have access to, but banshees generally don't have the blood required to perform the test." Director Ragnar starts to say before noticing Harriet has used a fingernail to cut open her palm exposing what looks like blood. Griphook quickly provides a piece of inheritance paper and Harriet drips three drops onto it before the three individuals watch words appear.

 **AN:** Thanks for reading and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing

 **Potter:** Paternal

 **Peverell:** Paternal

 **Gryffindor:** Paternal

"That's a surprise. The Peverell and Gryffindor vaults haven't been claimed in centuries." Director Ragnar comments. "Try calling to the Headship rings to see if you can summon them. It would be faster than unsealing the vaults."

Harriet holds out her right hand and mentally calls to the three rings. Moments later, three rings appear on her right ring finger with unique crests. Potter displays a stag, Peverell a sheaf of wheat, and Gryffindor a lion. Before anyone can react, the three rings fuse with the crests circling an onyx gem. "I'll take you to view your vaults if you don't mind. You could probably summon your gold in the same way but it's always good to see for yourself just what you own," Ragnar finally says.

"I'd prefer to view my vaults actually." Harriet comments as Ragnar leads her to a mine cart that rockets into the depths of the bank once they are both in it. "Does it go any faster?" She queries with a manic grin when the cart comes to a stop at a trio of vaults guarded by a dragon.

"Sorry, one speed only. Conveniently, the main vaults for all three Noble Houses are right here guarded by our strongest Hungarian Horntail." Ragnar replies over the sound of noise makers a pair of other goblins are using to make the dragon retreat from the three vaults. Sensing the magic within the vault doors, Harriet strokes the door to the center vault causing it to open for her and display the treasures inside. "This is the Gryffindor vault." Ragnar explains as Harriet gazes at the mounds of gold, silver, and bronze littered with priceless armor, paintings, and other artifacts both magical and mundane.

On an impulse, Harriet reaches out with both her hand and her magic calling to the heirlooms of the three Noble Houses. Even as Ragnar opens his mouth to inquire what she is doing, a number of interesting items appear. While the Potters appear to have no heirlooms, Godric Gryffindor's sword appears in Harriet's right hand while a wand made from the wood of the Elder tree appears in her left and a silvery cloak appears on her back. The most curious item however, is a Peverell ring displaying a symbol that almost looks like an eye but on closer inspection is a triangle in a circle bisected by a vertical line. The ring emits a dark aura clearly caused by extremely dark magic. Before Ragnar can react to the presence of the cursed ring, Harriet inhales deeply consuming the dark magic while leaving the ring and non dark enchantments intact even as the dark aura emits a scream of pain as though it is being killed.

"Lady Potter-Gryffindor-Peverell, I don't know who had possession of that ring last, but I am quite certain it was crafted around the mythical resurrection stone. If I'm right, then the wand is equally legendary and together with the cloak of invisibility makes you the Master of Death. If a copy of Beedle the Bard's stories can't be found in this vault, I would be happy to obtain a copy for your use. The Tale of Three Brothers would tell you the most about the items some wizards refer to as the Deathly Hallows." Ragnar says when he calms enough to speak.

"The artifacts themselves aren't important to me, I am curious what the tasty magic was that I consumed off the ring." Harriet says as she slips the resurrection ring into a pocket in her shadow gown.

"I believe that was a horcrux or soul jar curse. I will have the vaults searched as such objects are against goblin law and banned from Gringotts. As a Most Valued customer, here is a free pouch to hold your money in. It comes with shrinking, undetectable extension and feather weight charms so you can carry large sums with you without drawing constant excessive attention." Ragnar replies as he hands Harriet the pouch.

Scooping a few thousand galleons into the small pouch, Harriet melts into the shadows and reappears outside a shop labeled Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. As she enters the shop, every wand on the shelves starts to glow in reaction to her magical aura. "Please try to suppress your aura young lady. I regret to inform you that none of the wands I have in stock are suitable for your use. If you could come to my workshop in the back, I can test you for your ideal wood before we discuss possible cores." An old man says in a clearly panicked tone as he rushes to the front of the store.

Shrugging to herself, Harriet follows the old man to the back of the shop and passes her hand over several wood samples. Most of the samples have no reaction; however, a snow white block with berry patterns in the grain glows with a black light. "That's elder wood. I don't know why I even have it when most witches and wizards consider wands of elder to be bad luck. Powerful, but attracts the wrong sort of attention. One of your own hairs might be the best core, but we will need at least one other core to regulate the magic or even the fabled elder wood might crack from the strain of channeling your magic as a spell," the wand crafter comments.

Thinking about what the old man told her, Harriet plucks out three hairs before running her hands over the jars and trays of wand cores for compatible ingredients. Of the three most common ingredients, the phoenix tail feathers had the best reaction even after placing a strand of Harriet's hair nearby. "Hmm, interesting I wouldn't expect the life aspect of a phoenix to be compatible with the death aspect of a banshee. Return on July 31 and I should have a wand ready for you." The old man said in a tone of cautious dismissal.

After purchasing a multi-compartment trunk, Harriet purchased her school books along with a few extras such as Hogwarts: A History and an etiquette book for background reading in her spare time. For lunch, the young banshee terrorized Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlor while enjoying a large triple scoop sundae. Next stop was the apothecary where Harriet purchased a large supply of potions ingredients followed by a cauldron from the cauldron shop and a few other supplies from around the alley. The last stop before dinner is Eeylops Owl Emporium where Harriet gets a Snowy Owl she names Rowena. After a short chat with the Leaky Cauldron's barman, Tom, Harriet gets a room with meals for the remainder of the time before school starts in September.

On July 31, Harriet is awakened by a Gringotts owl with a letter informing her that a second Horcrux has been found and the goblins request her presence for its destruction. Bending the shadows to her will, Harriet covers herself in a diaphanous gossamer silk robe made of nothing but shadow. Eating the Horcrux magic takes only moments and Harriet encounters a very large man on her way out of the bank. "'Arriet, nice to meet ya. I got business with the goblins, but perhaps we could chat over some ice-cream after." The oversized man says as he moves to shake Harriet's hand.

"I have no idea who you are though I am surprised you're not cowering in sorrow or fear. I'll probably be in Madam Malkin's when you are finished with the goblins. Meet me there and we can talk." Harriet replies as she walks away and intentionally increases the strength of her aura to triple its passive levels.

 **AN:** Thanks for reading and please review


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Disclaimer:** I own Nothing. Portions taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

As she nears Ollivanders, Harriet drops her aura to an eighth of its passive levels to avoid damaging the shop's stock. When Ollivander (the old man from Harriet's first visit) hands her the custom elder wand, the reaction nearly blinds both of them before Harriet suppresses her aura further. "What species dragon would you like for your wand holster? I have Welsh Green, Chinese Fireball, Norwegian Ridgeback and Hungarian Horntail. All versions come with a full array of concealment charms and allow you to draw and sheath your wand with just a flick of your wrist though it does take a little practice and it's easy to forget you are wearing the holster." Ollivander comments once the spots clear from their eyes.

After a moments thought, Harriet selects the Horntail holster and pays 25 galleons after Ollivander mentions the rarity of both Elder wood and Dragon hide while trying to give her a discount. The final required stop for Harriet before September first is Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions. "Hogwarts, dear? Got the lot here – a young man being fitted up just now in fact." She says before Harriet can speak.

"Actually, I don't need school robes. I'm looking for a full set of Dragon hide robes with gloves for any classes where the protective qualities will be needed." Harriet replies as Madam Malkin leads her to a foot stool beside a boy with a pale, pointed face who is being fitted by a second witch. Pursing her lips, Madam Malkin retrieves a tape measure but drops it in surprise when Harriet dispels her robe and stands nude in the presence of a male.

"Hello. Hogwarts, too?" The boy comments with a grin at Harriet's developing breasts and exposed genitals.

"Not exactly the reason I'm here, but yes that's where I'm headed come September." Harriet replies as Madam Malkin starts measuring her.

"My father's next door buying my books and Mother's up the street looking at wands. Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully Father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." The boy says in a bored drawling voice.

"Have _you_ got your own broom?" the boy goes on.

"No." Harriet replies with the thought that Dudley might have got along with this boy if he wasn't dead.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No, but I'm interested."

" _I_ do – Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my House, and I must say I agree. Know what House you'll be in yet?"

"Don't particularly care though I don't like the reputation of some." Harriet replies thinking of how dark Slytherin is said to be and how out of touch with the world Ravenclaw comes off.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been –imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Better loyal than a stuck up know it all like the Ravens." Harriet replies with a slight chuckle.

"I say, look at that man!" The boy says suddenly, nodding toward the front window.

"He certainly draws attention. He greeted me at the bank though I've never seen him before and we made plans to chat once I'm done here." Harriet replies as she notices the large man from the bank alternately waving at her and pointing towards his other hand where he is holding two large ice creams.

"Be careful, he doesn't look like the kind of wizard you should be associating with." The boy comments just before Madam Malkin tells Harriet the measurements are done and she can pick up the robes in a couple of hours.

"I'll be fine. My guardians were far worse than he could possibly be." Harriet replies as she conjures another robe out of shadows. Unnoticed by the young Banshee, the boy's jaw drops at her casual use of elemental magic and Madam Malkin half wonders why the young witch would buy robes at all.

"I suppose I should introduce myself. Name's Rubius Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. I knew yer parents when they were in school an even visited the house a few times before they died. Yeh'll have to ask Dumbledore if you want to know the name of the wizard who killed em. Most folk just call im You-Know-Who cause they're scared of im and everythin he did back in the war." The now named large man said as he handed one of the large ice creams to Harriet.

"Okay, you're spending the rest of the summer with me." Harriet replies as she gulps down the ice cream before grabbing one of Hagrid's oversized fingers and shadow traveling to a Potter manor in northern Scotland. On arrival, the two are greeted by a humanoid creature around two feet tall with large bat-like ears and wearing a freshly ironed pillowcase. Introducing itself as Drowsy, head of the local Potter house-elves, the creature brought Harriet up to speed on the condition of the manor and surrounding property including five other house-elves. After a moment's thought, Harriet told Drowsy to continue as though the manor was still unoccupied by witches or wizards. Back in Diagon Alley, a heavily scarred man throws some powder into a fireplace and calls Dumbledore to tell him he saw Harriet and she appears to have not just one but two powerful wands.

After a moment's thought, Dumbledore reluctantly tells his informant that one of the wands is the fabled Deathstick from the story of The Three Brothers written by Beedle the Bard. The informant, named Alistor Moody but usually called Mad-eye, paled at the thought of a Royal Banshee in possession of multiple Hallow level wands and suggests that a closer eye be kept on the Girl-Who-Lived but Dumbledore rejects the idea by pointing out how much worse it would be if Harriet discovered the scrutiny and turned hostile because of it.

 **AN:** Thanks for reading and please review (preferably with details on why you (dis)like the chapter/story)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing. parts taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

The next month is decidedly interesting for Harriet. Besides collecting her robes later on the day she meets Hagrid, she notices a few signs he might be a half-giant. Despite the potentially troublesome ancestry, Hagrid seems friendly enough with a decidedly more than healthy interest in the more dangerous magical creatures such as Dragons, Acromantula and Banshees. Harriet always gets a chuckle out of how little interest the large man shows in her body when she forgets to get dressed due to her upbringing by the Dursleys who preferred her nude so the males could rape her and her aunt could insult her. Hagrid shows far more interest in her wardrobe… or rather her lack of one along with her innate skill in certain abilities tied to her new Banshee heritage such as the ability to manipulate shadow, fire, water, earth and air using elemental magic to the point where she can use the first four to travel without the aid of magical artifacts despite having no formal education beyond browsing her school books. If she hadn't read every book she bought on her first trip to Diagon Alley, she would have been totally lost talking to the boy in Madam Malkins.

On August 31 Harriet actually has to kick Hagrid out of her house because he enjoys spending time with her so much when he's not red as a tomato from blushing at her casual nudity. The next day, Harriet shadow travels to the Leaky Cauldron to tidy up the room she paid for at the end of her first trip to Diagon Alley before jogging over to Kings Cross Station with her trunk in a shadow pocket. To avoid attention from the non-magicals, she wore a shadow crafted dress of knee length silk. On reaching the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 a few minutes before the train is due to leave, she notices magic concentrated on the barrier in a way that suggests a concealing charm based on obscure information found in one of her charms books just as a woman is heard loudly complaining about muggles and asking what platform her family was looking for. A young girl with the same hair as the woman states that they are looking for platform 9 and three quarters before asking 'mum' if she can go.

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." The woman says in a quieter voice than her earlier complaints. The oldest boy in the group marches toward the barrier and disappears as a group of tourists block Harriet's vision.

"You will draw far too much attention if you make a habit of complaining about muggles and forgetting the platform number." Harriet comments as she passes the woman and walks through the barrier onto platform 9 and three quarters. Just before Harriet passes through the barrier she hears a rather amusing conversation between the woman and a set of twins named Fred and George. On the Platform 9 and three quarters side of the barrier, a scarlet steam engine sits waiting next to a platform packed with people, many dressed in robes of one kind or another. On her way to a carriage with an empty seat, she overhears a round faced boy telling his gran he lost his toad again. According to the old woman's reply, the boy is named Neville.

When she reaches the door to a likely carriage, Harriet notices the twins standing nearby with a puzzled expression but ignores them in favor of finding an empty compartment and putting Rowena on the luggage rack before retrieving an etiquette book from her trunk in a shadow pocket and settling down to read for the trip to Hogwarts. A few minutes after the train leaves the station, the youngest of the red headed boys enters the compartment and asks if anyone is sitting in the seat opposite Harriet because everywhere else is full. At a shake of her head, the boy sits down and briefly looks at Harriet before turning to the window.

"Hey, Ron."

The twins were at the compartment.

"Listen, we're going down to the middle of the train – Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right." The now named Ron mumbles.

"Sorry about how our mom was acting back at Kings Cross. Our names are Fred and George and this is our brother Ron. What's your name?"

"I'm Harriet. You should probably go see your friend with the giant tarantula soon." Harriet replies to the twins. With a synchronized shrug the twins leave to see the tarantula they'd mentioned. "Are all your family Wizards?" Asks Harriet, who finds Ron interesting.

"Er – yes, I think so," says Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already. I only know the theory for our school books and have a little instinctive magic due to a recent incident."

"So you live with Muggles," Ron says. "What are they like?"

"Horrible – well, the ones I know. Wish I'd had three Wizard brothers."

"Five," Ron says. For some reason, he is looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left – Bill was Head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reaches into his jacket and pulls out a fat gray rat, which is asleep. "His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff – I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears turn pink. He seems to think he'd said too much because he goes back to staring out of the window.

Harriet doesn't think there is anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, she'd never had any money in her entire life until a couple months ago, and she told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old shirts and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.

". . . and until Ragnar told me, I didn't know anything about being a Witch or Royal Banshee or about my parents or Voldemort – "

Ron gasps.

"What?" Harriet asks.

 _"_ _You said You-Know-Who's name!"_ Ron replies, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people – "

"Why shouldn't I say his name? Even though they know I'm new to my power as a Royal Banshee, the goblins are terrified of getting on my bad side while they treat him with the same contempt they give all Wizards.

 **AN:** thanks for reading and please review (preferably with details on what you like/dislike)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing. parts taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

While they were talking, the train carries them out of London. Now they speed past fields full of cows and sheep. They are quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

Around half past twelve there is a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slides back their door and says, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Harriet, who only had a light breakfast, leaps to her feet, but Ron's ears go pink again and he mutters that he'd brought sandwiches. Harriet goes out into the corridor.

She never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that she has a pouch rattling with gold and silver she is ready to buy as many Mars Bars as she can stuff into a shadow pocket – but the woman doesn't have Mars Bars. What she does have are Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harriet had never seen in her life. Not wanting to miss anything, she gets some of everything and pays the woman two gold Galleons.

Ron stares as Harriet brings it all back in to the compartment and tips it onto an empty seat.

"Hungry are you?"

"Not particularly, just didn't want to miss out on trying any new foods." Harriet says, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.

Ron takes out a lumpy package and unwraps it. There are four sandwiches inside. He pulls one of them apart and says, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"Swap you for one of these," Harriet says, holding up a pasty. "Go on –"

"You don't want this, it's all dry," Ron says. "She hasn't got much time," he adds quickly, "you know, with five of us."

"Go on, have a pasty," Harriet says, who has never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It is a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harriet's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches vanished down Harriet's throat first since she didn't want the hard work of Ron's mother to go to waste).

"Interesting enchantment on these frogs. Any idea why frogs though?" Harriet comments as she picks up one of the chocolate frogs.

"No," Ron replies. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know – Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect –famous Witches and Wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

Harriet unwrapped her Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So _this_ is Dumbledore!" Harriet says.

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" Ron replies. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa –thanks –"

Harriet turned over her card and read:

 **ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest Wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of Dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Harriet turned the card back over and saw, to her mild astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.

"Huh, moving pictures of a sort."

"You mean there are pictures that don't move?" Ron says. "No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her … do you want it? You can start collecting."

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," Harriet says. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, almost none of the pictures move."

Harriet stares as Dumbledore sidles back into the picture on his card and gives him a small smile. Ron is more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harriet can't keep her eyes off of them despite feeling a sense of hunger from somewhere in the compartment. Soon she had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. She finally tears her eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who is scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You want to be careful with those," Ron warns Harriet. "When they say every flavor, they _mean_ every flavor – you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George recons he had a booger-flavored one once."

Ron picks up a green bean, looks carefully, and bites into a corner.

"Bleaaargh – see? Sprouts."

They have a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harriet gets toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and is even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron won't touch, which turns out to be pepper.

The countryside now flying past the window is becoming wilder. The neat fields have gone. Now there are woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.

There is a knock on the door of their compartment and Neville comes in. He looks tearful.

"Sorry," he says, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shake their heads, he wails, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," Harriet says.

"Yes," Neville says miserably. "Well, if you see him…"

He leaves.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," Ron says. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

The rat is still snoozing on Ron's lap.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," Ron says in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"

He rummages around in his trunk and pulls out a very battered-looking wand. It is chipped in places and something white is glinting at the end.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway –"

He has just raised his wand when the compartment door slides open again. Neville is back, but this time he has a girl with him. She is already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she says. She has a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron says, but the girl isn't listening, she is looking at the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

She sits down. Ron looks taken aback.

"Er – all right."

He clears his throat.

 _"_ _Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,_

 _Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."_

He waves his wand but nothing happens. Scabbers stays gray and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the girl says. "Well it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

She said all this very fast.

Harriet looks at Ron, and it's obvious by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron mutters.

"Harriet Potter-Gryffindor-Peverell if these rings are to be believed," Harriet says as she drops the concealment charm on her headship rings.

"I got a few extra books for background reading, and none of them say anything about those three being linked, though I don't recall Peverell even being mentioned. The-Girl-Who-Lived is mentioned in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_."

"And none of them bothered to interview me or my guardians for their so called facts. They will likely run into trouble with the goblins soon now that I've talked with Director Ragnar about their actions." Harriet replies with a carefree tone.

"I hope you told Ragnar not to kill any of them," Hermione says. "Do either of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. . . . Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

And she tries to leave, taking Neville with her, but slams into a wall of solid shadow.

"Let me try something first." Harriet says as she pictures a toad in her mind and sticks her left hand into a pool of shadow. "Is this the right toad Neville?" Harriet asks when she pulls her left hand out of the shadow holding a toad Neville clearly recognizes while using her right hand to drop the shadow wall so Hermione can leave. Neville sits beside Ron gripping the toad tightly while Hermione stands dazed in the doorway.

"Whatever House I'm in, I hope she's not in it," Ron says as he throws his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell – George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

"I'm sure Hermione isn't as bad as first impression suggests. What House are your brothers in?" Harriet comments.

"Gryffindor," Ron says. Gloom seems to settle on him again. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw _would_ be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"That's the House Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"

"Yeah," Ron says flopping back into his seat, looking depressed.

"We probably should change into our school robes before we reach the school." Harriet says as she dispels her shadow garment, trying to take Ron's mind off Houses. Based on the way Ron's face turns as red as his hair, he at least noticed Harriet was now nude. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"

 **AN:** Thanks for reading and please review (preferably with details of what you (dis)like about it)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

"Charlie's in Romania studying Dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," Ron says while staring at Harriet's well developed C-cup breasts framed by her elbow length disheveled black hair instead of her killing curse green eyes. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the _Daily Prophet,_ but you might not get that having been raised by Muggles – someone tried to rob a high security vault."

"Really? What happened to them?"

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark Wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."

Harriet thinks about this for a moment. It sounds as though You-Know-Who was near Merlin level based on how scared of him everyone was.

"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asks.

"Don't really follow any yet," Harriet replies casually.

"Oh, yeah, you lived with Muggles." Ron says a little sheepishly. He then proceeds to give an in depth analysis of several professional teams and which broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He is just taking Harriet through the finer points of the game when three boys enter shoving Hermione to the floor. Harriet recognizes the middle one at once: It was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He is looking at Harriet with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley along with a fair amount of disgust.

"Is it true?" he says. "They're saying all down the train that Harriet Potter's in this compartment. If it's you, I suggest you ditch the Mudbloods and Blood traitors before they turn you into a complete slut."

"Ravenclaw is starting to look inviting as long as you aren't in it." Harriet replies as she robes herself in shadows once more while using more shadows to help Hermione off the floor. She was looking at the other two boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," says the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harriet is looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron gives a slight cough, which might be hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looks at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

He turns back to Harriet. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He holds out his hand to shake Harriet's, but Harriet doesn't take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sorts are for myself Dragon of Bad Faith, thanks," she replies coolly.

Draco Malfoy doesn't go red, but a pink tinge appears in his pale cheeks along with a hint of confusion.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he says slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Mudblood, and it'll rub off on you."

Ron stands up as the room drains of all light.

"Say that again," Ron says, his face as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneers.

"Unless you get out now," Harriet replies as invisible blades form within the shadows of the pitch black compartment.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."

Goyle reaches toward where the Chocolate Frogs should be, but lets out a horrible yell as the shadows attack him with hundreds of 'paper' cuts. Shortly after, the three boys flee the compartment and the shadows vanish, returning the room to its former state other than a privacy barrier for Ron and Neville to change into their school robes without Hermione or Harriet seeing anything they don't want her to.

"You've met Malfoy before?" Ron asks while he changes.

Harriet explains about their meeting in Diagon Alley.

"I've heard of his family," Ron says darkly. "They where some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

Peering out the window, Harriet notices that it is getting dark even without her shadow magic. She can see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train does seem to be slowing down.

Soon after, a voice echoes through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Harriet notices Ron looks pale under his freckles and Hermione and Neville don't look any better. Returning her book to her trunk and slipping Rowena's cage into the same shadow pocket the trunk is in while the others cram the last of the sweets in their pockets, the four students join the crowd thronging in the corridor.

The train slows right down and finally stops. People push their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Ron shivers in the cold, but Harriet doesn't feel it thanks to technically being dead. Then a lamp comes bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harriet hears a familiar voice: "Fir' years! Firs' years over hear! All right there, Harriet?"

Hagrid's big hairy face beams over the sea of heads.

"C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they follow Hagrid down what seems to be a steep, narrow path. It is so dark on either side of them that Harriet thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody speaks much. Neville sniffs once or twice, tightly holding his toad.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid calls over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There is a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path has opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, is a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid calls, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harriet and Ron are followed into their boat by Hermione and Neville.

"Everyone in?" shouts Hagrid, who has a boat to himself. "Right then – FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moves off all at once, gliding across the lake, which is as smooth as glass. Everyone is silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towers over them as they sail nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stands.

"Heads down!" yells Hagrid as the first boats reach the cliff; they all bend their heads and the little boats carry them through a curtain of ivy that hides a wide opening in the cliff face. They are carried along a dark tunnel, which seems to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reach a kind of underground harbor, where they clamber out onto rocks and pebbles.

After Hagrid checks to make sure no one fell into the lake or something, they then clamber up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walk up a flight of stone steps and crowd around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here?"

Hagrid raises a gigantic fist and knocks three times on the castle door.

 **AN:** thanks for reading and please review. (preferably with details of what you (dis)like about it)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing

The door swings open at once. A tall, black haired witch in emerald-green robes stands there. She has a very stern face and Harriet's first thought is that this is not someone to cross.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," says Hagrid.

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulls the door wide. The entrance hall is so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls are lit with flaming torches like the ones in the Gringotts tunnels, the ceiling is too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them leads to the upper floors.

They follow Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harriet can hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall shows the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowd in, standing rather closer together than they would usually do, most peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," says Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room."

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding Witches and Wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harriet uses a little shadow manipulation to smooth her hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," says Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Neville swallowed.

"How exactly do they sort us into Houses? None of the books I got mentioned it." Harriet asks Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

Harriet's heart gives a jolt of surprise. A test? In front of the whole school? But she and the Muggleborns like Granger only know the theory at best – what on earth will she have to do? She supposes she is lucky that she at least read if not memorized the course books. Looking around, she notices everyone else looks terrified. No one is talking much except Hermione Granger, who is whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'll need. Harriet listened in case the Sorting was a test. At least she won't have to take a school report home saying she'd turned her teacher's wig blue. She keeps her eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall will come back and lead her to the ceremony.

Then something happens that makes Neville jump about a foot in the air – several people behind them scream.

"What the - ?"

Several people around Harriet gasp. About twenty Ghosts have just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glide across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seem to be arguing. What looks like a fat little monk is saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a Ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?"

A Ghost wearing a ruff and tights has suddenly noticed the first years.

"Unless you died yesterday, you know full well we are waiting for the Sorting Ceremony that no one has given us the details for. Now proceed to the Great Hall before you give someone frostbite with your presence." Harriet replies while boosting her aura to a little over triple passive levels and attempting to direct it towards the Ghosts. Just as the last Ghost leaves, Professor McGonagall enters to confusion at why the Ghosts are not telling the first years which House they represent.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall tells the first years, "and follow me."

Suppressing her aura to half passive levels, Harriet got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Harriet had never imagined such a strange and splendid place, even after living in the Potter Manor. It is lit by thousands and thousands of candles that are floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students are sitting. These tables are laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall is another long table where the teachers are sitting. Professor McGonagall leads the first years up here, so that they come to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them look like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the Ghosts shine misty silver. Harriet glances upward and notices an enchantment on the velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She hears Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History._ "

It would be hard to believe there is a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall doesn't simply open on to the heavens, if Harriet couldn't see the magic itself.

Harriet quickly looks down again as Professor McGonagall silently places a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she puts a pointed Wizard's hat. This hat is patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.

 _Maybe we have to try and get a rabbit out of it,_ Harriet thinks wildly - she noticed it had some type of magic on it, but not the specific type, since everyone in the hall is now staring at the hat, she stares too. For a few seconds, there is complete silence. Then the hat twitches. A rip near the brim opens wide like a mouth – and the hat begins to sing:

 _"_ _Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
_ _But don't judge on what you see,  
_ _I'll eat myself if you can find  
_ _A smarter hat than me.  
_ _You can keep your bowlers black,  
_ _Your top hats sleek and tall,  
_ _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
_ _And I can cap them all.  
_ _There's nothing hidden in your head  
_ _The Sorting Hat can't see,  
_ _So try me on and I will tell you  
_ _Where you ought to be.  
_ _You might belong in Gryffindor,  
_ _Where dwell the brave at heart,  
_ _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
_ _Set Gryffindors apart;  
_ _You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
_ _Where they are just and loyal,  
_ _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
_ _And unafraid of toil;  
_ _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
_ _If you've a ready mind,  
_ _Where those of wit and learning,  
_ _Will always find their kind;  
_ _Or perhaps in Slytherin  
_ _You'll make your real friends,  
_ _Those cunning folk use any means  
_ _To achieve their ends.  
_ _So put me on!_ _Don't be afraid!  
_ _And don't get in a flap!  
_ _You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
_ _For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall bursts into applause as the hat finishes its song. It bows to each of the four tables and then becomes quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispers to Harriet. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a Troll."

Harriet smiles in amusement. She can't tell how anyone would believe wrestling a Troll was a test for eleven and twelve year olds. The hat seems to be asking rather a lot though, many first years don't look brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a House for people who felt a bit queasy, sorting would be a lot easier.

Professor McGonagall now steps forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she says. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbles out of line, puts on the hat, which falls right down over her eyes, and sits down. A moment's pause –

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouts the hat.

The table on the right cheers and claps as Hannah goes to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harriet sees the Ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouts the hat again, and Susan scuttles off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left claps this time; several Ravenclaws stand up to shake hands with Terry as he joins them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" goes to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" becomes the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left explodes with cheers; Harriet could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then becomes a Slytherin. Perhaps it is Harriet's imagination, after all she'd heard about Slytherin, but she thinks they look like an unpleasant lot….and for some reason looking at them makes her hungrier.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes, Harriet notices, the hat shouts out the House at once, but at others it takes a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harriet in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost runs to the stool and jams the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouts the hat. Ron groans.

When Neville is called, he falls over on his way to the stool. The hat takes a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouts, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville runs off still wearing it, and has to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Malfoy swaggers forward when his name is called and gets his wish at once: the hat has barely touched his head when it screams, "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy goes to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.

There aren't many people left now.

"Moon"…, "Nott"…, "Parkinson"…, then "Perks, Sally-Anne"…, and then, at last –

"Potter, Harriet!"

As Harriet steps forward, whispers suddenly break out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

" _Potter_ , did she say?"

" _The_ Harriet Potter?"

The last thing Harriet sees before the hat drops over her eyes is the hall full of people craning to get a good look at her. Next second she is looking at the black inside of the hat. She waited.

"Hmm," says a small voice in her ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Gryffindor's blood. A thirst for knowledge that Rowena herself would envy. Perhaps a shade too much loyalty, a healthy chunk of cunning stolen from Slytherin's last Heir….So where shall I put you?"

Harriet chuckles at the hat's words and thinks; _the school will be Gryffindor red if you put me in Slytherin._

"Please don't redecorate the school in blood." Begs the small voice. "If you're sure – better be GRYFFINDOR!"

Harriet hears the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. She takes off the hat and walks calmly toward the Gryffindor table. Rolling her eyes, she notices she is getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect gets up and shakes her hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harriet sits down opposite the Ghost in the ruff she'd seen earlier. The Ghost pats her arm, giving Harriet a slight feeling of having plunged it into a bucket of icy water.

She can see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest her sits Hagrid, who catches her eye and gives her the thumbs up. Harriet grins back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sits Albus Dumbledore. Harriet recognizes him at once from the card she'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair is the only thing in the whole hall that shines as brightly as the Ghosts. Harriet spots a nervous Professor in a turban as well. The Professor had been at the Leaky Cauldron during her second trip to Diagon Alley.

And now there are only four people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a black boy even taller than Ron, joins Harriet at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," becomes a Ravenclaw and then it is Ron's turn. He is pale green by now. Harriet crosses her fingers under the table and a second later the hat has shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harriet claps loudly with the rest as Ron collapses into the chair next to her.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," says Percy Weasley pompously across Harriet as "Zabini, Blaise," is made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolls up her scroll and takes the Sorting Hat away.

Harriet looks down at her empty gold plate. She doesn't really need food, but she is very hungry. The pumpkin pasties and other snacks seem ages ago.

Albus Dumbledore has gotten to his feet. He is beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could please him more than to see them all here.

"Welcome!" he says. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"Thank you!"

He sits back down. Everybody claps and cheers. Harriet isn't sure whether to laugh or not.

"He seems a bit mad." She comments to Percy uncertainly.

"Mad?" says Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harriet?"

Harriet's mouth falls open. The dishes in front of her are now piled with food. She has never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harriet, but she'd never been allowed to eat as much as she liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harriet really wanted, even if it made him sick. Harriet piles her plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It is all delicious, but doesn't help the hunger she is feeling any.

"That does look good," says the Ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harriet cut up her steak.

"How long has it been?"

"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," says the Ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident Ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" Ron says suddenly. "My brothers told me about you – you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would _prefer_ you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy –"the Ghost begins stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupts.

" _Nearly_ Headless? How can you be _nearly_ headless?"

Sir Nicholas looks extremely miffed, as if their little chat isn't going at all the way he wanted.

"Like _this_ ," he says irritably. He seizes his left ear and pulls. His whole head swings off his neck and falls to his shoulder as id it is on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on most of their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flips his head back onto his neck, coughs, and says, "So – new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the Cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable – he's the Slytherin Ghost."

Harriet looks over at the Slytherin table and sees a horrible Ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harriet is pleased to see, doesn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.

"How did he get covered in blood?" Seamus asks with great interest.

"I've never asked," Nearly Headless Nick says delicately.

When everyone has eaten as much as they can, the remains of the food fade from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appear. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you can think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding. . .

As Harriet helps herself to a treacle tart, the talk turns to their families.

"I'm half-and-half," Seamus says. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mum didn't tell him she was a Witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

The others laugh.

"What about you, Neville?" Ron says.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch." Neville says, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankle when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced – all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

On Harriet's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione are talking about lessons ("I _do_ hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult –"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing –").

Harriet, who is starting to feel warm and sleepy, looks up at the High Table again. Hagrid is drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall is talking to Professor Dumbledore. The Professor in the turban is talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.

It happens very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looks past the turban straight into Harriet's eyes – and the strongest hunger pains yet double her over.

"Ouch!" Harriet claps both hands to her stomach.

"What is it?" Percy asks.

"N-nothing."

The pain is gone nearly as quickly as it came. Harder to shake off was the hunger Harriet got from the teacher's look.

"Who's the greasy-haired teacher talking to the turban?" she asks Percy.

"The turban is Professor Quirrell. No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to – everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

Harriet watches Snape for a while, but Snape doesn't look at her again.

At last, the desserts too disappear, and Professor Dumbledore gets to his feet again. The hall falls silent.

"Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flash in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch."

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Harriet chuckled, but she is one of the few who do.

"He's not serious? Doesn't matter when I'm technically dead already." She mutters to Percy.

"Must be," Percy says, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us Prefects at least. And what do you mean you're already dead?"

"I'm a Royal Banshee as of an hour after I received my Hogwarts letter." Harriet casually replies while focused on Dumbledore's speech.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cries. Harriet notices that the other teachers' smiles become rather fixed.

Dumbledore gives his wand a little flick, as if he is trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flies out of it, which rises high above the tables and twists itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," Dumbledore says, "and off we go!"

And the school bellows to a shadowy accompaniment:

 _"_ _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
_ _Teach us something please,  
_ _Whether we be old and bald  
_ _Or young with scabby knees,  
_ _Our heads could do with filling  
_ _With some interesting stuff,  
_ _For now they're bare and full of air,  
_ _Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
_ _So teach us things worth knowing,  
_ _Bring back what we've forgot,  
_ _Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
_ _And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everybody finishes the song at different times. At last, only Harriet and the Weasley twins are left singing along to a very slow funeral march while shadows loom over them. Dumbledore conducts their last few lines with his wand and when they are finished, he is one of those who clap loudest.

"Ah, music," he says, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years follow Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. If she wasn't a Banshee, Harriet would have been too sleepy to be surprised at the moving portraits and hidden doorways along the route. They climb more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harriet is just wondering how much farther they have to go when they come to a sudden halt.

A bundle of walking sticks is floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy takes a step toward them they start throwing themselves at him only to bounce off a shadow shield.

"Not sure which of you created the shield, but this is Peeves," Percy whispers to the first years. "A Poltergeist." He raises his voice, "Peeves – show yourself."

A loud, rude sound, like air being let out of a balloon, answers.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"

There is a pop. And a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appears, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"Oooooooh!" he says, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"

He swoops suddenly at them and straight into another shadow wall with a crunch. Only Harriet doesn't duck… or wince at the crunch.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" Percy barks.

Peeves sticks out his tongue and vanishes, dropping the walking sticks above Neville's head. They hear him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passes.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," Percy says, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us Prefects. Here we are."

At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she says.

"Caput Draconis," Percy says, and the portrait swings forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scramble through it – Neville needs a leg up – and find themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

Percy directs the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase – they are obviously in one of the towers – they find their beds: seven four posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. The other girls' trunks have already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, the other girls pull on their pajamas and fall into bed.

"Is it just me, or does it seem like the Headmaster doesn't realize this is a school?" Harriet asks while the other girls quietly gossip.

"It's not just you. You should get some sleep before classes tomorrow. I'm going to find a teacher to help with some personal business." Harriet says before shadow traveling out of the dormitory.

 **AN:** Thanks for reading and please review


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

"What are you doing in the Wizengamot chambers and how did you get here Harriet?" Dumbledore asks after Harriet steps out of the shadows of the chamber.

"I was going to ask you for a good time to claim my seats Professor, but I might as well claim the seats for Houses Potter, Peverell and Gryffindor now. As for how I got here, I used the racial ability of a Royal Banshee to shadow travel to your location." Harriet replies to the discomfort of the other Wizengamot members. In response to her words, two of the more ornate chairs magically fuse with one of four thrones. Taking the hint, Harriet sits at the resulting throne while the other Wizengamot members argue over details of ancient magic and current magical law.

Once the issue of a creature holding even one seat, much less three on the Wizengamot is resolved, Chief Warlock Dumbledore dismisses the session for the day due to classes starting at Hogwarts in the morning. With a smirk, Harriet sends Dumbledore through a shadow directly into his office before shadow traveling into Neville's bed much to the surprise of the Longbottom heir. "Harriet! What are you doing here?" Neville asks as she dismisses her shadow robes and raises a sound blocking shadow barrier around Neville's bed.

"I thought you could use some company, though we don't want to attract attention from your dorm mates. We should get to sleep since we have classes in the morning, but if you've been given the sex talk by your family, feel free to do anything that won't get a girl pregnant." Harriet responds before getting into a basic sleeping position. As she thought, Neville doesn't do anything before they fall asleep. When she wakes in the morning however, both of Neville's hands are on her breasts and his morning wood is poking her in the rear to Neville's potential embarrassment.

Before Neville can wake up, Harriet shadow travels to the first year girls' dorm and crafts her special school robes from shadows. Whispers follow Harriet from the moment she leaves her dormitory. People lining up outside classrooms stand on tip toe to get a look at her, or double back to pass her in the corridors again, staring. Harriet half wishes they wouldn't, because she is trying to concentrate on finding her way to classes without shadow traveling or ghosting through the walls.

There are a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow rickety ones; some that lead somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that most students have to remember to jump. Then there are doors that won't open unless you ask politely, or tickle them in exactly the right place, and doors that aren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It is also very hard to remember where everything is, because it all seems to move around a lot. The people in the portraits keep going to visit each other and Harriet is sure the coats of armor can walk.

The Ghosts don't help, either. It is always a nasty shock when one of them glides suddenly through a door you are trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick is always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist is usually worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you meet him when you are late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on most students' heads, pull rugs out from under feet, pelt most students with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind, invisible, grab their nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" After the first incident, however, he left Harriet alone, preferring easier targets.

Even worse than Peeves is the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harriet and Ron manage to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor just before Harriet was going to give up and ghost through. He doesn't believe they are lost, is sure they are trying to break into it on purpose, and is threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they are rescued by Professor Quirrell, who is passing.

Filch owns a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamplike eyes just like Filch's. She patrols the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'll whisk off for Filch, who'll appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knows the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and can pop up as suddenly as any of the Ghosts. The students all hate him, and it is the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. A few times, Harriet had a little fun using Shadow elemental magic to send Mrs. Norris to random parts of the castle.

And then, once you have managed to find them, there are the classes themselves. Harriet quickly found out there was a lot more to magic than her innate Banshee skills implied.

They have to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they go out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little Witch called Professor Sprout, where they learn how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and find out what they are used for.

Easily the most boring class is History of Magic, which is the only one taught by a Ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staffroom fire and got up the next day to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns drones on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, is a tiny little Wizard who has to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he takes the roll call, and when he reaches Harriet's name he gives an excited squeak and topples out of sight.

Professor McGonagall is again different. Harriet had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gives them a talking-to the moment they sit down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she says. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changes her desk into a pig and back again. They are all impressed and can't wait to get started, but soon realize they aren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they are each given a match and start trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger and Harriet have made any difference to their matches; Professor McGonagall shows the class how both matches have gone all silver and pointy and give the two girls a rare smile.

The class everyone is really looking forward to is Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turn out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smells strongly of garlic, which everyone says is to ward off a Vampire he'd met in Romania and is afraid will be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he tells them, had been given to him by an African Prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome Zombie, but they aren't sure if they believe his story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asks eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the Zombie, Quirrell goes pink and starts talking about the weather; for another, they notice that a funny smell hangs around the turban, and the Weasley twins insist that it is stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell is protected wherever he goes. Harriet half agrees because she always gets hungry around Quirrell even after just finishing a large meal.

Harriet is very relieved to find out that she isn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people come from Muggle families and, like her, hadn't any idea they were Witches and Wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron don't have much of a head start. In fact, her Banshee talents seem to be giving her a slight boost in many areas.

Friday is an important day for Harriet and Ron. They finally manage too find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.

"What have we got today?" Harriet asked Ron as she poured sugar on her porridge.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron says. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them – we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Kinda wish McGonagall favored us," Harriet says. Professor McGonagall is head of Gryffindor House, but it didn't stop her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.

Just then, the mail arrives. Harriet is used to this by now, but it had been quite interesting on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they see their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.

Rowena hasn't brought Harriet anything so far. She sometimes flies in to nibble on her ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning, however, she flutters down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and drops a note onto Harriet's plate. Harriet tears it open at once. It says, in a very untidy scrawl:

 _Dear Harriet,_

 _I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?_ _I want to hear all about your first week._ _Send us an answer back with Rowena._

 _Hagrid_

Harriet borrows Ron's quill, scribbles _Yes, please, see you later_ on the back of the note, and sends Rowena off again.

It is lucky that Harriet has tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turns out to be the worst thing that happens to her so far.

At the start-of-term banquet, Harriet has gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked her once she thought about his expression at the time she got the hunger pains commonly associated with Quirrell. By the end of the first Potions lesson, she knew she'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harriet, he _hated_ her.

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harriet's name.

"Ah, yes," he says softly, "Harriet Potter. Our new – _celebrity._ "

Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle snigger behind their hands. Snape finishes calling the names and looks up at the class. His eyes are black like Hagrid's, but they have none of Hagrid's warmth. They are cold and empty and make you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he begins. He speaks in barely more than a whisper, but they catch every word – like Professor McGonagall, Snape has the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses….I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence follows this little speech. Harriet and Neville exchange looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger is on the edge of her seat and looks desperate to start proving she isn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" Snape says suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

 _With or without a stoppered vial?_ Harriet glances at Ron, who looks completely stumped and Neville doesn't look much better; Hermione's hand shoots into the air.

"I suspect the answer you want is the Draught of Living Death, though both ingredients are used in multiple other potions," Harriet says.

Snape's lips curl into a distinct frown.

"Let's try another one. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretches her hand as high into the air as it will go without leaving her seat, but Harriet wondered what quality of bezoar the question referred to. She tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who are shaking with laughter.

"The common bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat though the school's potions supply cupboard should have a stock and can save you from most poisons. The greater bezoar is from the stomach of a Dragon and is effective against a greater range of poisons without mixing into a potion. I doubt you would want a royal bezoar, as the Royal Banshee is thought to be extinct and would kill anyone trying to harvest stones from it's stomach, though the royal bezoar is nearly as effective as Phoenix tears against poisons."

"Open a few extra books, eh, Potter?"

Harriet forced herself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. She couldn't be fairly punished for reading more than asked.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Hermione stands up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.

"You should probably spread the questions around a bit, Professor. Both plants are the same and also go by the name aconite. Perhaps we should discuss this during a detention after dinner?"

A few people laugh; Harriet caught Hermione's eye, and Hermione frowned. Snape actually grinned though it was decidedly not friendly.

"Sit down," he snaps at Hermione. "Make that detention every night after dinner for a week for you Potter. Your first answer was correct, the second I only wanted the information on the common bezoar, and the final answer was correct as well. Well? Why aren't the rest of you all copying this down?"

There is a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape says, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

Things don't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continues. Snape puts them all into pairs and sets them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He sweeps around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy has stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing fill the dungeon. Neville has somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion is barely contained within shadow barriers. Neville unfortunately, was drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, and is moaning in pain as angry red boils spring up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarls, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpers as boils start popping up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spits at Seamus. Then he rounds on Harriet and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

"You – Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

"Perhaps you should give me another week's detention just to make sure my behavior improves to your liking." Harriet replies just before Ron kicks her behind their cauldron.

"Are you mental," he mutters, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty." Snape simply nods in agreement to Harriet's suggestion of an additional week of detention.

As they climb the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harriet's mind is racing as to just how far she will go to improve Snape's attitude towards the Gryffindors… or at least her – _why_ does Snape hate her so much?

"Cheer up," Ron says, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"

At five to three they leave the castle with Neville and make their way across the grounds. Hagrid lives in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes are outside the front door.

When Harriet knocks they hear a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rings out, saying, " _Back_ , Fang – _back_."

Hagrid's big, hairy face appears in the crack as he pulls the door open.

"Hang on," he says before turning to a now whimpering enormous black boarhound. "Eh, what's up with you Fang?"

There is only one room inside. Hams and pheasants are hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle is boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stands a massive bed with a patchwork quilt and the cowering boarhound over it.

"Make yerselves at home," Hagrid says as Harriet promptly dismisses her shadow school robes. Fang immediately bolts from the house at this. Like Hagrid, Fang is clearly not as fierce as he looks.

"This is Ron and Neville," Harriet tells Hagrid, who is pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.

"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid says, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest. Neville's a Longbottom isn't he? Spent some time back in the war helpin' out yer parents."

The rock cakes are shapeless lumps with raisins that almost break Ron and Neville's teeth, but Harriet happily demolishes them while they tell Hagrid all about their first lessons.

All three are delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."

"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her – Filch puts her up to it."

Harriet tells Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, tells Harriet not to worry about it, that Snape likes hardly any of the students.

"But he seemed to really _hate_ me."

"Rubbish!" Hagrid says. "Why should he?"

Yet Harriet can't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet her eyes when he says that.

"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asks Ron. "I liked him a lot – great with animals."

Harriet wonders if Hagrid was changing the subject on purpose. While Ron tells Hagrid all about Charlie's work with Dragons, Harriet picks up a piece of paper that is lying on the table under the tea cozy. It is a cutting from the _Daily Profit_ :

 **GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**

Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark Wizards or Witches unknown.  
Gringotts Goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.  
But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokes Goblin this afternoon.

Harriet remembers Ron telling her on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.

"Hagrid!" Harriet says, "that Gringotts break-in happened the day we met! It might've been happening while one of us was there!"

There is no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely doesn't meet Harriet's eyes this time. He grunts and offers her another rock cake. Harriet reads the story again. _The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day._ Given his size, Hagrid could easily empty a small vault.

As Harriet and Ron walk back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd not thought to store in a shadow pocket, Harriet thinks that none of the lessons she'd had so far gave her as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid emptied the vault just in time? Where are the contents now? And does Hagrid know something about Snape that he doesn't want to tell Harriet?

After dinner, Harriet returns to the dungeons for the detention with Snape and promptly disrobes asking, "How do you want me sir? On my back with legs spread? Or perhaps on my knees like a bitch in heat? Or did you want me to suck you off first?"

On hearing her questions, Professor Snape snaps and pins her to the floor with his bare hands before driving into her hard and fast, shooting his seed into her womb until it overflows and covers a surprising amount of the floor. "You will tell no one of what just happened." Snape says as he comes to his senses.

"No one important will learn of this as long as you treat every student like your precious Slytherins. Be nice enough and I could get rid of that tattoo on your left arm if you want." Harriet says as she calmly creates another set of school robes out of shadows.

"As if you could remove a spell that the Headmaster can not," Professor Snape mocks as he straightens his robes before vanishing his spilled seed. Harriet responds by inhaling forcefully while focused on the sensation of hunger centered on the Potions Professor's left arm. Checking his arm after feeling a minor tickling sensation, Snape sees that his Dark Mark is gone and says "Today's detention is over. Either return to your common room or if you have any stealth skills, I have a staff meeting you might want to listen in on," as he looks at the clock on the wall to check the time. Bending the shadows around her, Harriet chooses to follow the sour faced Potions Professor to his staff meeting.

"Apologies for my late arrival. I lost track of time supervising the first of the Potter brat's detentions. On that topic, we may have a problem. She acted like a prostitute or the victim of a child sex trafficking ring. On top of that, she somehow removed my Dark Mark." Snape says on entering the staff room where Dumbledore waited with the other professors.

"I made a mistake ten years ago that makes the things you mention little more than symptoms Severus. Due to that mistake, Harriet is proof of the existence of a legendary race thought to be myth. She is a Royal Banshee and feeds off of dark magic as a preferred diet though she easily survives off more traditional fare. Knowing your animosity towards her father, I suspect you did something inappropriate that aided in losing track of time. If Harriet comes to me with a complaint, you must leave this school at minimum." Dumbledore says in reply as the other teachers frown at the mention of the Dark Mark and McGonagall scowls at the mention of Harriet being a Royal Banshee.

"Rather than wait for me to complain, I suggest you keep an eye on the House points. Your comment about dark magic being the preferred food makes me wonder about Professor Quirrell and the pet of a fellow Gryffindor. Ron's rat Scabbers seems to increase my appetite." Harriet says as she drops out of stealth.

"What change in the House points would suggest we can expect a complaint Harriet?"

"It's a lack of change that would bring a complaint. I believe it is almost curfew, so I will be returning to Gryffindor tower now." Harriet says before shadow traveling into Neville's bed, disrobing within the shadows.

"S-sorry, I'll put on a dressing gown," Neville says as he feels Harriet's rear touch his bare manhood when she appears in his bed.

"Don't bother Neville, I know you won't be like the other males I've had in my bed when I lived with my aunt and uncle." Harriet says as she raises the standard privacy shadows, stopping Neville from leaving the bed.

 **AN:** Thanks for reading and please review.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

Harriet never believed she would meet a boy she hated more than Dudley, but that was before she met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only have Potions with the Slytherins, so they don't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spot a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that makes them all groan. Flying lessons will be starting on Thursday – and Gryffindor and Slytherin will be learning together.

"Typical," Harriet says darkly with a hint of a smirk. "Just what I always wanted. A chance to make Malfoy look like a fool on a broomstick."

She was actually looking forward to learning to fly even more than before.

"I know I'll look like a fool. Gran always kept me away from brooms," Neville groans.

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," Harriet says reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet Hermione could out fly him once she gets a chance to mount a broom."

Malfoy certainly does talk about flying a lot. He complains loudly about first years never getting on the House Quidditch teams and tells long, boastful stories that always seem to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He isn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan tells it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron will tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom. That's not to mention the library's worth of stories from gossip queens Lavender and Parvati. Everyone from wizarding families talks about Quidditch constantly. Ron has already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shares his dormitory, about soccer. Ron can't see what is exciting about a game with only one ball where no one is allowed to fly. Harriet had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move, one morning before she shadow traveled to her own bed.

Privately, Harriet felt Neville's grandmother has good reason to keep him away from brooms, because Neville manages to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.

Hermione Granger is almost as nervous about flying as Neville is. This is something you can't learn by heart out of a book – not that she hasn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bores them all stupid with flying tips she got out of a library book called _Quidditch Through the Ages_. Neville is hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else is very pleased when Hermione's lecture is interrupted by the arrival of the mail.

Harriet hasn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl is always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opens gloatingly at the Slytherin table.

A barn owl brings Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opens it excitedly and shows them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seems to be full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explains. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgot to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh . . ." His face falls, because the Remembrall has suddenly glowed scarlet, ". . . you've forgotten something . . ."

Neville is trying to remember what he's forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who is passing the Gryffindor table, attempts to snatch the Remembrall out of his hand only to be blocked by a shadow barrier.

Ron jumps to his feet. He is half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who can spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, is there in a flash.

"What's going on?"

"Malfoy tried to steal Neville's Remembrall, Professor." Harriet comments while using a minor bit of Shadow magic to secure Malfoy's off foot to the floor.

Scowling, Malfoy quickly turns away and promptly falls on his face as the shadow bindings dissipate.

"Just looking, someone should fix these floors," he says, and he slopes away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

At three-thirty that afternoon, Harriet, Ron, Neville, and the other Gryffindors hurry down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It is a clear, breezy day, and the grass ripples under their feet as they march down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees are swaying darkly in the distance.

The Slytherins are already there, and so are twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harriet had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them start to vibrate if you fly too high, or always fly slightly to the left.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrives. She has short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barks. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Harriet glances down at her broom. It is old and some of the twigs stick out at odd angles.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," calls Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" everyone shouts.

Harriet's broom jumps into her hand at once, but it is one of the few that does. Hermione Granger's simply rolls over on the ground, and Neville's hasn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like some animals, can tell when you are afraid, thinks Harriet; there is a quaver in Neville's voice that says only too clearly that he wants to keep his feet on the ground.

Madam Hooch then shows them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walks up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harriet, Ron and Neville are delighted when she tells Malfoy he's been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," says Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two –"

But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushes off hard before the whistle has touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouts, but Neville is rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle – twelve feet – twenty feet. Harriet sees his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, sees him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and –

WHAM – a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lays facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick is still rising higher and higher, and starting to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.

Madam Hooch is bending over Neville, her face as white as his.

"Broken wrist," Harriet hears her mutter. "Come on, boy – it's all right, up you get."

She turns to the rest of the class.

"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."

Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbles off with Madam Hooch, who has her arm around him.

No sooner are they out of earshot than Malfoy bursts into laughter.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?"

The other Slytherins join in.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snaps Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" says Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought _you'd_ like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Look!" says Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

The Remembrall glitters in the sun as he holds it up.

"Give it here, Malfoy," Harriet says quietly. Everyone stops to watch.

Malfoy smiles nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find – how about - up a tree?"

"You're going to meet some of your father's old friends if you don't give it to me Malfoy." Harriet says, but Malfoy leaps onto his broomstick and takes off. He hadn't been lying, he _could_ fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he calls, "Come and get it, Potter!"

"You're an idiot Malfoy," Harriet says as she uses the same shadow trick from the train to grab Neville's Remembrall without leaving the ground.

"Avada Kedavra!" Crabbe and Goyle yell, sending twin jets of emerald green light at Harriet when they see the Remembrall in her hand. The instant the curses hit Harriet, everyone falls to the ground, catatonic with overwhelming sorrow and fear as Harriet's robes rip in a way suggesting she was attacked with a blunt object while the outward signs of every injury she ever had appear on her lightly tanned skin.

"Lady Potter, please return to your human form as soon as possible." Professor McGonagall requests as she walks up to the class alongside a broad, square-jawed witch with a monocle.

"This is the first time I've entered this form, and it's only thanks to Crabbe and Goyle casting Avada Kedavra at me. I'll try to at least suppress my aura." Harriet says as she begins to suit actions to words.

"My name is Amelia Bones. I am the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If what you say is true, both boys should go to the Wizard prison of Azkaban but I'm willing to go along with whatever punishment you choose. I actually came here to investigate the allegations against Draco Malfoy regarding the use of a flying broom in the presence of Muggles and take the chance to visit my niece while she is at school," the Witch with the monocle says as the flying class begins to recover from Harriet's Banshee form misery aura.

"Harriet, mate, what happened? How did you survive the killing curse this time?" Ron asks as he notices the bruises and other external signs of injury covering her Banshee form.

"I'm sure I mentioned being a Royal Banshee on the train. I may have forgotten to mention that I can eat Dark magic. I also only just learned about my Banshee form. All of these bruises are harmless copies of injuries I received during the nearly ten years I lived with my aunt and uncle. I think to punish Crabbe and Goyle for casting the killing curse; I'll test one of my Banshee abilities. If they survive, Professor McGonagall, I believe 100 points from Slytherin will help them improve their behavior." Harriet says to a nod from the adult Witches.

Having received consent for her actions, Harriet glides over to Crabbe and Goyle before giving both boys a soul stealing kiss that leaves them soulless meat sacks. "I think Draco should be expelled for his own safety. If he sticks around, he will likely do something to earn a kiss from me." Harriet says as she restrains Draco in shadow chains with a wave of her hand when he tries to attack her for the fate of his henchmen. Madam Bones accepts the ends of the shadow chains and drags Draco up to the castle while Madam Hooch returns to continue the class.

After a few minutes of going through the basics without further incident, Madam Hooch divides the class into two groups, the group showing more skill is allowed to do what they want as long as they stay in the general area while the second group receives more detailed instruction from Madam Hooch. Having returned to a solid form and shown a fair amount of skill in basic flight, Harriet flies around the class doing corkscrews and barrel rolls along with practicing dives with first a galleon, then Neville's Remembrall.

"HARRIET POTTER!"

She immediately turns and dashes to meet Professor McGonagall who is running toward the class.

" _Never_ – in all my time at Hogwarts –"

Professor McGonagall is almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flash furiously, "- how _dare_ you – might have broken your neck –"

"Lady Potter, follow me, now."

Harriet catches sight of a few Slytherins triumphant faces as he leaves, walking in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strides toward the castle. She doesn't think she will be expelled, but can't think of any other reason to take her from the class. Professor McGonagall is sweeping along without even looking at her; she has to jog to keep up.

Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall doesn't say a word to her. She wrenches open doors and marches along corridors with Harriet trotting curiously behind her. Maybe she was taking her to Dumbledore. She thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps she could be Hagrid's assistant. She almost laughs imagining it, watching Hermione and the others becoming Witches while she glides around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.

Professor McGonagall stops outside a classroom. She opens the door and pokes her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

Wood? thinks Harriet, bewildered; was Wood a cane she is going to try to use on her?

But Wood turns out to be a person, a burley fifth-year boy who comes out of Flitwick's class looking confused.

"Follow me, you two," says Professor McGonagall, and they march on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harriet.

"In here."

Professor McGonagall points them into a classroom that is empty except for Peeves, who promptly stops writing rude words on the blackboard at a glimpse of Harriet. Professor McGonagall slams the door behind him and turns to face the two students.

"Lady Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood – I've found you a Seeker."

Wood's expression changes from puzzlement to delight.

"Are you serious, Professor?"

"Absolutely," says Professor McGonagall crisply. "The girl's a natural even accounting for being a Royal Banshee. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Lady Potter?"

"I'll have to decline the spot on the team Professor. Even if you are right that most of it is skill unrelated to my being a Royal Banshee, I would have an unfair advantage. I could attend practices as an assistant coach, but other than that, the only thing I can do for the team is to acquire decent brooms," Harriet says, opening a shadow portal to Ragnar's office. "Director Ragnar, if it's not too much trouble, how long would it take to get seven top quality racing brooms for donation to the Gryffindor Quidditch team?"

I was just drafting a letter to request you come to Gringotts at your earliest convenience for a second inheritance test to confirm ownership of some vaults that reactivated sometime after your birthday. The brooms can be ready for pickup Saturday at 10am. Which vault do you want the funds removed from?" Ragnar's voice replies from the shadow portal.

"Take the funds from the Peverell vaults. May your wealth ever increase and your enemies grovel at your feet," Harriet says. Ragnar returns the sentiments and Harriet closes the shadow portal before turning to Wood. "Please arrange for the Gryffindor team to have a practice after lunch on Saturday."

"Sure thing Lady Potter, if Professor McGonagall has no objections."

"None at all, I can't wait to see Professor Snape's expression when his precious Slytherins lose to Gryffindor. Your father would be a little disappointed you aren't playing. He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."

"You're _joking_."

It is dinnertime. Harriet has just finished telling Ron what happened when she'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron has a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he's forgotten all about it.

" _Seeker_?" he says. "But first years _never_ – you would have been the youngest House player in about –"

"- a century," says Harriet, shoveling pie into her mouth. She feels particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."

Ron is so amazed, so impressed; he just sits and gapes at Harriet.

"I'll be giving the team new brooms Saturday after lunch," says Harriet. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."

Fred and George Weasley now come into the hall, spot Harriet, and hurry over.

"You're mental," says George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team – Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," says Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good even as a coach, Harriet, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go; Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

Fred and George have hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turns up: Malfoy.

"Having a last meal, Potter? I heard you got pulled out of class by McGonagall."

"You're still an idiot Malfoy."

"Prove it. Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a Wizard's duel before I suppose?"

"Of course she has," says Ron wheeling around. "I'm her second, who's yours?"

Malfoy scans the Slytherins, sizing them up.

"Parkinson," he says. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

"You're not coming. I can handle Malfoy no matter what rules he comes up with."

"You should have a witness with you in any case," says Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie.

"Excuse me."

They both look up. It is Hermione Granger.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" says Ron.

Hermione ignores him and speaks to Harriet.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying –"

"Bet you could," Ron mutters.

"- and you _mustn't_ go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," says Harriet.

"Good-bye," says Ron.

All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harriet thinks, as she lays awake much later listening to Parvati and Lavender falling asleep. Hermione had spent all evening nagging her to forget about the duel with Malfoy.

At half-past eleven, Harriet shadow travels to the trophy room with both elder wands in her hands. Near midnight, Harriet is joined by Ron (who went searching for the trophy room after he realized Harriet wasn't coming down to the Gryffindor common room), Hermione and Neville.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispers.

Then a noise in the next room makes them jump. Harriet has only just raised her wands when they hear someone speak – and it isn't Malfoy.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

It is Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Hermione waves madly at the other three to follow her as quickly as possible; Hermione, Ron and Neville scurry silently towards the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes have barely whipped around the corner when Filch enters the trophy room and spots Harriet stowing her wands in a shadow pocket.

"You're in trouble now Ms. Potter. I'll have you strung up in chains and whipped until your back is shredded to the bone." Filch says with a crazed grin.

"I don't think so. For one, I'm the Lady of at least three Ancient and Noble Houses, making it a capital offence to use such crude methods of punishment on me. For another, I hear you are always complaining about far smaller messes than the one you would have to mop up. I'm sure we can find a more attractive mess for you to clean after punishing me." Harriet says as she dispels her shadow robes.

"Go find more trouble making brats, my sweet, I haven't had a good shag in years," Filch says as he removes his robes. An hour later, as semen drips out of Harriet, Peeves is heard yelling that students are out of bed down the charms corridor. As Filch gets dressed, Harriet cleans out her genitals before shadow traveling to a random location. Moments later, Hermione and the boys are heard running to the opposite side of a nearby door.

"This is it!" Ron moans, as they push helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"

They can hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he can towards Peeves's shouts.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarls. She grabs Neville's wand, taps the lock, and whispers, " _Alohomora!_ " just loud enough for Harriet to hear.

The lock clicks and the door swings open – they pile through it and Harriet, shut it quickly, and press their ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch is saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please.'"

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now _where did they go_?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," says Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.

"All right – _please_."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they hear the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

"He thinks this door is locked," Harriet whispers to the others. "I think we'll be okay – get _off_ , Neville!" For Neville has been poking at Harriet's bare breasts for the last minute. " _What?_ "

Harriet turns around - and sees, quite clearly, what.

They aren't in a room, as she had assumed after shadow traveling. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they know why it is forbidden.

They are looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that fills the whole space between ceiling and floor. It has three heads. Three pairs of rolling, terrified eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

It is standing quite still, four eyes on Harriet and the other two switching between the other three students and a trap door, and Harriet suspected the only reason the other three Gryffindors aren't already dead is that she had appeared first and stands too close to the others. Harriet grabs the others by their robes and shadow travels all four of them to a random destination. This time, it is a room.

"There's a Horcrux in here somewhere. Don't touch anything until I say it is safe." Harriet says as she starts tracking the feeling of hunger that appeared when they entered the room.

"What's a Horcrux and how do you know how to track them?" Hermione asks as Harriet spots a diadem on a bust of a Witch.

"A soul jar created using the darkest of magic. Director Ragnar mentioned them when I encountered one at the bank. I can sense and to some degree track them because as a Royal Banshee, dark magic is a preferred diet." Harriet says before inhaling the Horcrux magic and soul fragment attached to the diadem. With the dark magic removed from the diadem, Harriet places the enchanted item into a shadow pocket for later evaluation by the Goblins. There is a chance the diadem is another founder's object like the cup horcrux that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff before being turned into a soul jar.

"Okay, but why are you naked and how are we getting back to Gryffindor tower without being spotted by Filch again?" Hermione asks in an irritated tone.

"Filch came up with something besides the usual torture as punishment," Harriet lies to avoid spilling the beans on her activities. "I can create shadow portals similar to the floo network to get you back to your bed, but I'd like to talk to Neville for a moment before I return." Creating two portals, Harriet sends Ron and Hermione back to their beds.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Neville asks.

"Nothing really, though I am curious if perhaps your dad's wand is holding you back by being a less than ideal match to you. Try using my wand for a few spells using the items around us if you need a target," Harriet says as she hands Neville her Phoenix feather/Banshee hair dual core wand. After successfully casting a few spells with a better success rate than his father's wand, Neville returns Harriet's wand and suggests they get to bed. Noticing Neville had implied they would be sharing a bed, Harriet shadow travels both of them into Neville's bed in the boy's dormitory and raises the usual privacy shadows.

 **AN:** Thanks for reading and please review. Next chapter might take awhile because I'm considering doing my own Harry Potter/ Pokemon crossover that would take place after Harriet's third year. For those of you who kept track, Harriet has now eaten or otherwise rendered useless to Voldemort four out of the six horcruxes Voldemort created before attacking the Potters at Godric's Hollow. (The seventh horcrux wad created in fourth year after Voldemort gained a temporary body with Wormtail's help)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing

Malfoy can't believe his eyes when he sees that Harriet and Ron are still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Harriet wonders a little just how Malfoy was punished for his boasts of flying skill.

Neither Neville nor Hermione show the slightest interest in what lies underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cares about is never going near the dog again and getting many more nights snuggling nude with Harriet.

Potions class goes well enough, with the Slytherins losing just as many points as the Gryffindors though Snape gives Harriet another week of detentions as punishment for missing the previous night's detention. After dinner, when Harriet shows up for her regular detention, Marcus Flint and Blaise Zabini are chatting with Snape.

"Up to you sir, those boys are in your House and might want to help with my detention if you think they will not cause problems." Harriet says when Snape moves to dismiss the two Slytherins.

"Speak a word of this to anyone and I'll have you scrubbing cauldrons like a muggle." Snape says to Marcus and Blaise as he closes and locks the door to the room. Both Slytherins look nervous until Harriet dispels her shadow robes and lies across the top of a cleared worktable. Three hours later, Snape vanishes the evidence before escorting the two Slytherins to their dorm while Harriet cleans up and shadow travels to Neville's bed for another night of nude cuddling.

In the morning, Harriet has a quick breakfast of pancakes sausage and eggs before shadow traveling to Diagon Alley for her appointment with Gringotts.

"Most unusual, it appears magic itself has chosen you to inherit a couple of vaults on the strength of the vaults you already inherit by blood or deed." Ragnar says on seeing that Harriet's newest inheritance test shows her as being top candidate for head of not only her existing Houses, but also Slytherin and Gaunt by conquest, and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff by magic and several Houses by vow. After summoning the Head of House rings for Slytherin, Gaunt (which pops out of Harriet's shadow pocket where she keeps the resurrection stone), Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, repeating the heirloom summoning provides a locket with a snake on the front and a horcrux inside, the diadem from the junk room, and the cup from the former Lestrange vault. "The Houses you inherit by vow are not yours yet, but at any time you can call in the vow they made to Voldemort and claim everything they have. Or just claim their dark magic without even going near the location of said magic." Ragnar explains when Harriet asks him about the remaining forty houses listed in the inheritance test.

After collecting seven Nimbus 2000s from Gringotts, Harriet stops by the Leaky Cauldron for lunch before shadow traveling to the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch for the Gryffindor tryouts and practice. With the permission of the teachers, the first year Gryffindors are allowed to tryout and Neville of all people gets the Seeker position.

Over the next few weeks, the Gryffindor team gets used to having proper brooms and Neville starts snogging Harriet during their nights together and even intentionally rests his genitals against Harriet's in such a way that half the time Harriet wakes up with him inside her, though they haven't advanced to proper shagging. It's hard to believe when Harriet realizes she's been at Hogwarts for two months. The castle feels more like home than Privet Drive ever had. Her lessons, too, are becoming more and more interesting now that they have mastered the basics.

On Halloween morning they wake to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announces in Charms that he thinks they are ready to start making objects fly, something they have all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick puts the class into pairs to practice. Harriet's partner is Seamus Finnigan. Ron, however, is to be working with Hermione Granger. It is hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione is angrier about this. She hasn't spoken to either of them since the night they met the three headed dog.

"Now don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaks Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too – never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

It is only somewhat difficult for Harriet… mainly to avoid using her wind element control instead of the spell being taught. Seamus swishes and flicks, but the feather he is supposed to be sending skyward just lies on the desktop. Seamus gets so impatient that he prods it with his wand and sets fire to it – Harriet has to put it out with fire element control.

Ron, at the next table, isn't having much more luck – far worse actually.

" _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " he shouts, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Harriet hears Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi- _o_ -sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarls.

Hermione rolls up the sleeves of her gown, flicks her wand, and says, " _Wingardium Leviosa!_ "

Their feather rises off the desk and hovers about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" cries Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Ron is in a very bad mood by the end of the class.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he says to Harriet as they push their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocks into Harriet as they hurry past her. It is Hermione. Harriet catches a glimpse of her face – and sees that she is in tears.

"I think she heard you."

"So?" says Ron, but he looks a little uncomfortable. "She must have noticed she's got no friends."

Harriet glares at Ron before shadow traveling while focused on Hermione – appearing in a girl's bathroom where Hermione is crying and asks to be left alone. While she doesn't say anything, Harriet lingers one stall over from Hermione waiting for when the bushy haired Witch is ready to talk. Hermione is still leakier than a broken water faucet when a horrible stench fills the air. Before Harriet can open her stall door, a massive wooden club shatters the stalls revealing a bruised Hermione and a twelve foot tall Troll wearing only a dirty loin cloth.

Noticing that the Troll is male when the loin cloth shifts, Harriet decides to do the one thing that distracts all males she has ever met even as Hermione screams loud enough to compete with a common Banshee. Dispelling her shadow robes, Harriet uses the Troll's manhood to climb up until she can line it up with her own genitals and slips the massive meat stick into her core. At this point, the dim witted Troll's eyes bulge in surprise and the beast shoots its seed into Harriet just before she uses a targeted version of her Banshee scream to detonate the Troll's big head. Just as Harriet climbs off the Troll, Ron and Neville enter with their wands out, ready to protect the girls from the Troll. While they stare in shock at Harriet cleaning up her genitals with a little water element control, Professor McGonagall bursts into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell takes one look at the headless Troll, lets out a faint whimper, and sits quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Snape bends over the Troll. Professor McGonagall is looking a Ron and Neville. Harriet has never seen her looking so angry. Her lips are white.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" says Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harriet looks at Ron and Neville who are still standing with their wands in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Snape gives Harriet a swift piercing look. Harriet returns the look. She wishes Ron and Neville would put their wands down.

"Please, Professor McGonagall – they were looking for me and Hermione."

"Lady Potter!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Harriet notices that Hermione has gotten to her feet at last.

"Hermione was upset by some ill thought remarks in the halls after Charms class and I was keeping her company so she would know the remarks were not true. Ron and Neville came to find us because we didn't know about the Troll until it destroyed the stalls. As far as they knew, there wasn't time to fetch anyone."

Neville and Ron are just the right amount of shocked to support the truth.

"Well – in that case . . ." says Professor McGonagall, staring at the four of them, "I suppose the boys should help the girls to the hospital wing to check for injuries. Ten points each to the girls for taking out a full-grown Mountain Troll and another five points for the boys for showing concern for missing Housemates. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

As Ron and Neville gently grip Hermione's arms to help her walk, Harriet grabs the front of her gown and shadow travels all four of them to the hospital wing by focusing on 'nearest place of healing'. They don't talk much as Madam Pomfrey heals Hermione's bruises and cracked bones and checks Harriet for injuries, or on the walk to Gryffindor tower.

But from that moment on, the four of them are friends. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and killing a twelve-foot Mountain Troll is one of them. (Even if Harriet did all the work.)

 **An:** Thanks for reading and please review. (btw, not sure how many readers notice, but due to the flawed thinking common to abuse victims, Harriet is addicted to sex and anything connected to it) Next update for this story is in roughly 1.5 weeks unless I get an easy chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing

As they enter November, the weather turns very cold. The mountains around the school become icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground is covered in frost. Hagrid can be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.

The Quidditch season has begun. On Saturday, Harriet will be watching her first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor wins, they will move up into second place in the House Championship.

Hardly anyone has seen Harriet coach because Wood decided that, as a secret weapon, Harriet should be kept, well, secret. But the news that she was coaching the Gryffindor team had leaked out somehow, and Harriet doesn't know which is worse – people telling her the Gryffindors will be brilliant or people telling Neville they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress.

It is really lucky that Harriet now has a solid friendship with Hermione. She doesn't know how she'd have gotten through all her homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do on top of the daily detentions with Snape. She also lent her _Quidditch Through the Ages_ , which turned out to be a very interesting read.

Harriet learned that there are seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers are usually the smallest and fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents seem to happen to them; that although people rarely die playing Quidditch, referees have been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.

Hermione has become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harriet had saved her from the Mountain Troll, and she is much nicer for it. The day before Gryffindor's first Quidditch match the three of them are out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she has conjured them up a bright blue fire that can be carried around in a jam jar. They are standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crosses the yard. Harriet notices at once that Snape is still limping from an injury gained around Halloween. Neville, Ron, and Hermione move closer together to block the fire from view; they are sure it isn't allowed. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces catches Snape's eye. He limps over. He hasn't seen the fire, but he seems to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.

"What's that you've got there Potter?"

It is _Quidditch Through the Ages_. Harriet shows him.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," says Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."

"He's just made that rule up," Harriet mutters exasperatedly as Snape limps away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"

"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," says Ron bitterly.

The Gryffindor common room is very noisy that evening. Harriet, Ron, Neville, and Hermione sit together next to a window. Hermione is checking Neville and Ron's Charms homework for them. She will never let them copy ("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, they get the right answers anyway.

Harriet feels restless. She wants _Quidditch Through the Ages_ back, to take her mind off Neville's nerves about tomorrow. Why should she be afraid of Snape? He'd probably just request another round of shagging even though he blew five loads in her during her regular detention. Getting up, she tells Ron, Neville and Hermione she is going to ask Snape if she can have it.

"Better you than me," they say together, but Harriet has an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there are other teachers listening.

She makes her way down to the staffroom and knocks. There is no answer. She knocks again. Nothing.

Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It is worth a try. She pushes the door ajar and peers inside – and a horrible scene meets her eyes.

Snape and Filch are inside, alone. Snape is holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs is bloody and mangled in a way that she should have noticed during her detentions. Filch is handing Snape bandages.

"Blasted thing," Snape is saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"

Harriet tries to shut the door quietly, but –

"POTTER!"

Snape's face is twisted in fury as he drops his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harriet gulps.

"You might want to bring along something to scare the dog next time."

"I'LL TEACH YOU A LESSON YOU WON'T FORGET!"

Ignoring Filch's presence, Snape force feeds his manhood into Harriet's mouth and empties a few loads down her throat. Luckily for the greasy-haired Potions master, Filch takes the opportunity to shoot a few loads of his own up Harriet's backdoor while she rides out the rougher than normal treatment. She shadow travels back to Gryffindor tower when they are done with her.

"Did you get it?" Ron asks as Harriet joins them. "Is something the matter?"

In a low whisper, Harriet tells them what she'd seen.

"You know what this means?" she finishes breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when you saw him – he might be after whatever it's guarding if he isn't trying to catch whoever is! And he might be the one to let that troll in, to make a diversion!"

Hermione's eyes are wide.

"No – he wouldn't," she says. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore is keeping safe."

"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snaps Ron. "I'm with Harriet. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"

"I'm not so sure Snape is the bad guy Ron. I have some dirt on him and he knows I'm a Royal Banshee, so he won't do anything major to get on my bad side," Harriet says.

Harriet goes to bed with her head buzzing with questions. Neville is snoring loudly, but that's not the reason she couldn't sleep. Nor is Neville's penis inside her the problem. She tries to empty her mind – she needs to sleep, she has to, she has her first Quidditch match in a few hours and needs to be alert even if she isn't playing – but the expression on Snape's face when Harriet had seen his leg isn't easy to forget.

The next morning dawns very bright and cold. The Great Hall is full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.

"You've got to eat some breakfast."

"I don't want anything."

"Just a bit of toast," wheedles Hermione.

"I'm not hungry."

Neville looks terrible. In an hour's time he'll be walking onto the field.

"Neville, you need your strength," says Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."

"Thanks, Seamus," says Neville, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.

By eleven o'clock the whole school seems to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students have binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it is still difficult to see what is going on sometimes.

Ron and Hermione join Harriet, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As a surprise for Neville, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. It says _Longbottom for President_ , and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashes different colors.

Madam Hooch is refereeing. She stands in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.

"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she says, once they are all gathered around her. Even up in the stands, Harriet notices that she seems to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a fifth year. Having had sex with both Flint and a Troll at separate occasions, Harriet thought Flint doesn't just look like he has some Troll blood in him.

"Mount your brooms, please."

Neville clambers onto his Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch gives a loud blast on her silver whistle.

Fifteen brooms rise up, high, high into the air. They are off.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor – what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too –"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, is doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve – back to Johnson and – no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes – Flint flying like an eagle up there – he's going to sc – no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle – that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and – OUCH – that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger – Quaffle taken by the Slytherins – that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goalposts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger – sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which – nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes – she's really flying – dodges a speeding Bludger – the goalposts are ahead – come on, now, Angelina – Keeper Bletchley dives – misses – GRYFFINDOR SCORE!"

Gryffindor cheers fill the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.

"Budge up there, move along."

"Hagrid!"

Ron and Hermione squeeze together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.

"Bin watching from me hut," Hagrid says, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"Nope," says Ron. "Neville hasn't had much to do yet."

"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," says Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that is Neville.

Way up above them, Neville is gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of Harriet and Wood's game plan.

"Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you to be attacked before you have to be."

When Angelina had scored, Neville had done a couple loop-the-loops despite his nervousness. Now he is back to staring around for the Snitch. Once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Neville dodged it and one of the Weasley Twins came chasing after it.

"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan is saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds towards the – wait a moment – was that the Snitch?"

A murmur runs through the crowd as Adrian Pucey drops the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.

Neville sees it. In a great rush of excitement he dives downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs has seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtle toward the Snitch – all the Chasers seem to have forgotten what they are supposed to be doing as they hang in midair to watch.

Neville is faster than Higgs - he puts on an extra spurt of speed -

WHAM! A roar of rage echoes from the Gryffindors – Marcus Flint has blocked Neville on purpose, and Neville's broom spins off course, Neville holding on for dear life.

"Foul!" scream the Gryffindors.

Madam Hooch speaks angrily to Flint and then orders a free shot at the goalposts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch has disappeared from sight again.

Down in the stands, Dean Thomas is yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"

"What are you talking about, Dean?" says Ron.

"Red card!" says Dean furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"

"But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminds him.

Hagrid, however, is on Dean's side.

"They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Neville outta of the air."

Lee Jordan is finding it difficult not to take sides.

"So – after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating –"

"Jordan!" growls Professor McGonagall.

"I mean after that open and revolting foul –"

" _Jordan, I'm warning you –_ "

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

It is as Neville dodges another Bludger, which goes spinning dangerously past his head, that it happens. His broom gives a sudden, frightening lurch. It happens again. It is as though the broom is trying to buck him off.

Lee is still commentating.

"Slytherin in possession – Flint with the Quaffle – passes Spinnet – passes Bell – hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose – only joking, Professor – Slytherins score – oh no . . ."

The Slytherins are cheering. Harriet notices that Neville's broom is behaving strangely and scans the crowd for the cause.

Just as Harriet spots both Snape and, oddly enough, Quirrell staring at Neville while mumbling under their breathes, Neville falls from his broom. Before he can hit the ground, Harriet sends a shadow out from the stadium wall that swallows Neville before spitting him out a different section off wall.

As he tumbles to a stop, the crowd sees him clap his hand to his mouth ass though he is about to be sick – he hits the field a few times – coughs – something gold falls into his hand.

"I've got the Snitch!" he shouts, waving it above his head, and the game ends in complete confusion.

"This is why I didn't want him on a broom," a Witch with a familiar vulture-topped hat says.

"He'll be fine. I'm sure his father didn't hide in a safe place every time something looked risky." Harriet says as Flint can be heard howling that Neville didn't catch the snitch, he nearly _swallowed_ it.

"You're right Lady Potter. My son and his wife were tortured into insanity because he stood for what is right despite it being dangerous. I'm Madam Augusta Longbottom." The Witch says as Lee Jordan happily shouts the results of the Quidditch match – Gryffindor won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty.

"A pleasure to meet you outside the Wizengamot Madam Longbottom. I find it odd that Neville hasn't been given a properly matched wand. Curious about his poor wand skill, I once gave him an Elder wand to test, and he got better results from the borrowed Elder wand than the wand he says was his father's." Harriet says somewhat diplomatically.

After discussing a trip to Olivander's in the near future, Harriet follows Ron, Hermione and Neville to Hagrid's for a cup of tea.

"It was Snape," Ron explains, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick and wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"Rubbish," says Hagrid, who hadn't seen what had happened around him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Harriet glared at Ron and Hermione, wondering how much to tell Hagrid. Harriet decided on the truth up to a limit.

"I found out something about him," she tells Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. Ron and Hermione think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding, but I saw Quirrell acting the same as Snape during the game and his stutter is a little suspicious."

Hagrid drops the teapot.

"How do you know about Fluffy?" he says.

" _Fluffy_?"

"Yeah – he's mine – bought him off a Greek chappie I met at the pub las' year – I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the –"

"Yes?" says Harriet eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," says Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape or Quirrell are trying to _steal_ it."

"Rubbish," says Hagrid again. "They are both Hogwarts teachers, they'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did one or both of them just try and kill Neville?" cries Hermione.

The afternoon's events certainly seem to have changed her mind about Snape.

"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" says Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Neville's broom acted like that, but Snape and Quirrell wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all four of yeh – yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel –"

"Aha!" says Harriet, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid looks furious with himself.

 **AN:** Thanks for reading and please review. expect the next update in a week and a half at the latest. Not sure when the next Alola Adventure update will be because I need to advance my play through of Pokemon Moon to catch up.


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